Buttercup
by gabby227
Summary: AU/AH: After getting drunk and sleeping with her best friend, can Caroline and Damon salvage what's left of their friendship? Or will it be enough to split them apart?
1. Chapter 1

**I realize I'm in the middle of She Will Be Loved, but inspiration for this hit me pretty hard a few days ago and I started writing. This is a little different than what I'm used to writing but hopefully you all will like it.**

**Also, this is in first person, Caroline's POV.**

Damon Salvatore is my best friend.

I know what you're thinking. Why not Bonnie or Elena? They are my age, they are practically my sisters, and they are girls. Well, for one, Bonnie can be judgmental and Elena can be a bitch. And I'm not just saying that because they aren't here to defend themselves – no, I'd tell them that to their face. In fact, I have said it to them before. They get pissed for a while, but then we get along for a while. They are really practically my sisters – after Elena's parents died and Bonnie's mom abandoned her, my mom became somewhat of a surrogate mother to the both of them. Really, my whole group of friends – Damon, Elena, Bonnie, Damon's brother Stefan, Tyler Lockwood, Matt Donovan and me – we grew up together. I've known them all since we were in diapers. Damon's two years older than the rest of us, but he and I always really clicked. We've been practically attached at the hip since we were young. My parents and Damon's dad, Guiseppe, always joked about us growing up and falling in love, but Damon's my friend. It'd be weird for us to be together.

That's why I wasn't surprised to see Damon sitting in my living room that Saturday morning. He was reading the newspaper and without looking up, he said, "Good morning, Buttercup."

Ugh. That stupid nickname. Damon has called me Buttercup since he was seven and I was five. Even as a little boy, Damon was charming, and he told me that my hair looked like the color of the flower. I even made the mistake of telling fourteen year old Damon that I hated the nickname and didn't want him to call me that anymore, but he was fourteen, and did it to annoy me. Now, though, ten years later, it doesn't bother me that much.

"What are you doing here, Damon? And how did you get in?"

He shrugged and put the newspaper down, "Tyler let me in. He was on his way to class."

Tyler Lockwood is my roommate – and just my roommate. He is going to law school right now and he asked me if I wanted to move in with him as his roommate to save some money on rent. Tyler and I are good friends. I dated Matt in high school, who was Tyler's best friend, and he and I just kinda clicked – but not the way that Damon and I do. He's good company and he is a really good guy. He hasn't always been, but he's changed since high school. He went through some really deep shit in junior year with his father's death, and he's become a better man since then. When Matt and I broke up in senior year, Tyler and I remained friends.

"Isn't it a little early for you to be here, Damon?" I ask him, going into the kitchen. He followed me.

I got a carton of eggs out and proceeded to make myself some breakfast. Damon just watched me for a moment.

"I'm up early because I need to ask you a favor and I wanted to catch you before you went to work," he said. I work at a daycare, from nine to four everyday but Sunday. It makes me busy, but I love it. I love working with kids and I want tons of them when I finally get married and settled down.

Getting my scrambled eggs out of the pan, I watch him for a moment before sitting down at the kitchen island counter and start to eat. I am waiting for him to ask.

"Father is having a big party tonight at the country club. He wants to celebrate Elena and Stefan's engagement."

I roll my eyes, "Stefan and Elena have been engaged for over a year."

"I know. They're getting married in a couple of months, and Elena's even pregnant, but Father insists. He also insists I bring a date. He keeps going on and on about how his almost twenty-seven year old son is still single and playing the field, while his younger son is getting married and about to be a father. Frankly, I'm getting a little tired of hearing about it, so I wanted to know if you'd go with me just to shut the old man up."

"Yeah, but Damon, everybody knows that we're friends. I mean, hell, you call my parents mom and dad."

"I know. But I was thinking of telling Father a little white lie – that we've been seeing each other in secret and don't want anybody to know about it. I mean, we'd have to kiss and stuff, but I'm okay with it if you are."

"You know I'd do anything for you, Damon, but I don't know about this…" my voice trailed off.

"C'mon, Caroline, please? I'm not too proud to beg," he said, making a face. I knew he was serious because that's the only time he uses my given name. "It's just to put one over on my father. I'll repay you any way you want, just please do this for me."

The dilemma wasn't because Damon wanted to fool Guiseppe. No, his father was an ass. After Damon's mother died of cancer when he was eight, Stefan became Guiseppe's favorite. He would do anything for Stefan – he was the golden boy. And when they became teenagers, Guiseppe seemed to love Stefan more because he did what his father wanted. Stefan studied hard, played football, went steady with Elena practically his whole life. Damon played the field, was an incredible ladies' man, and did what he did just to get by. It didn't help that Damon works as a bartender at the local hangout, the Mystic Grill. He's worked there since he was eighteen and loves bartending. And I know for a fact that a lot of the fights that happen between Guiseppe and Damon just happen to be about me. I've walked in on enough of them. Guiseppe doesn't believe that a man and a woman can be close friends like Damon and me without something romantic going on.

I sigh deeply, running a hand through my hair. I know that I'm going to give in, and I bet Damon does too by the way he's looking at me. Finally, after a few moments of silence, I say, "Okay, I'll do it. What time?"

He broke out into a huge grin, "It's at seven. I'll come by around five to help you get ready."

"I know how to dress myself, Salvatore."

"Yeah, I know, but my girlfriend has to be hot, Buttercup," he says to me and I sigh. This is a losing battle. I watch him for a moment before glancing at the clock. It's after eight thirty now and I have got to get going.

"Look, Damon, I've gotta run. You can let yourself out, yes?"

He nodded as I grabbed my car keys and my bag and I left. As I drove to work, I couldn't help but have this nagging feeling that whatever was happening with Damon right now was a very bad idea. I honestly just wish I had known how bad of one it really was.

-x-

I got home at a quarter after four and when I walked through the front door, Tyler and Damon were sitting on the couch, each of them with a beer in their hand, and they were laughing about something. Now, this picture is a weird one. Damon and Tyler hate each other, and have for a long time. Damon has picked many a fight with Tyler's uncle Mason Lockwood and the animosity between Tyler and Damon has always been there. So this picture was a bit strange.

"It's only a quarter past four, Damon," I say to him as I set my bag down on the table closest to me. "You said you wouldn't be here until five. I need time for a shower and stuff."

"Relax, Buttercup," Damon says, and Tyler smirks at me.

"Yeah, relax, Buttercup," Tyler says with a smile. I shoot him a dirty look and then tell Tyler, "Only Damon is allowed to call me that."

"Just because you can't stop him," Tyler says and I roll my eyes.

"Go shower. I'll still be here when you get out."

"Thanks for your permission," I mumbled as I leave the room.

The hot water feels absolutely divine and I have to scrub a little harder on my hands where one of the kids, Jimmy, kind of attacked me with a glitter glue pen. As I told Daphne, my boss, I'm taking a note here and now. Four year olds should not have access to glitter glue. I take the time in the shower to hope and pray that tonight goes okay. I remember in seventh grade when it became knowledge that Stefan had a crush on Elena. I knew before practically everybody, though, because Damon tells me everything. They had been such good friends up to that point and I always thought that being lovers with someone who had been a close friend your entire life would be weird, but Elena adjusted quite quickly. I always wondered how that couldn't be not weird for her. I also remember wondering how she could make the transition from friend to lover so easily. I won't lie – sometimes I wonder if Damon and I could ever be that, but it's just me wondering most of the time. I don't see him romantically, and that's one of the reasons I'm worried right now. If I don't see Damon romantically, how the hell am I supposed to pull this off tonight?

After about twenty minutes, I get out of the shower and dry myself off. Wrapped up in an oversized towel, I go into my room and see Damon in the middle of my bed.

"What the hell, Salvatore?" I ask him.

"What?"

"I can get dressed by myself, you know," I say, going to my dresser and getting out a lavender bra and panties set. I slip the panties on under my towel so I'm not showing anything, and turn around so I can put on the bra. I don't have any modesty when it comes to Damon; he's seen me in my bra and panties several times, just like I've seen him in his boxers. He's my friend; it's purely platonic.

"I just want to make sure you look good." He gets up and goes over to my closet. He pulls a tight, short, sleeveless crimson dress out of my closet and gave me a look, "You wear this?"

I shrug, "Sometimes. I bought it a couple of years ago to go clubbing with Elena and Bonnie."

He's giving me a look that I don't recognize, but after a couple of minutes, he snaps himself out of it, "Wear this," he says, handing the dress over.

"Salvatore, we've been over this already," I say, pulling the dress on. "I'm your _pretend_ girlfriend, just for tonight only, remember? We may be trying to fool the old man, but that's all it is, you know."

"Yeah, I know. I don't like you like that, so you don't have to worry."

I shrug, pull a pair of black heels out of my shoe rack, and then do a model spin for him, "How do I look?"

"Hot," is his answer.

"Great," I say before going in to the bathroom to curl my hair and apply my makeup. He follows me in there and hops up on the bathroom counter.

"We should probably concoct a story to tell him," Damon says as I start to apply my makeup. "I mean, for all he knows, we're still just friends."

I shrug, "What do you want to tell him?"

He thinks for a moment before saying, "Well, we've been friends for a long time. Maybe we wanted to explore the possibility of being…something more?"

"When's the last time you brought a bimbo home, Damon?" I ask. "He usually knows about your conquests, and that would be a bad thing."

"It's been more than a week. I may be a ladies' man, but I'm thinking about settling down. You know, date one girl for a while."

"That's good," I say, "because it'll make our story more believable." I start to apply eyeliner, but gasp loudly as another thought occurred to me. He looked at me, "What's wrong?"

"You know what I just thought of?" I ask, and he shakes his head. "You're usually more, um, _handsy_ with the girls you're with. Are you sure we should do this, Damon? I mean, you know how much I absolutely adore being pawed at," I said sarcastically. He laughed.

"You're a cop's daughter, Buttercup, and Mom has trained you well. Especially with the karate you've been studying since you were old enough to walk and the fact that you know how to break an arm without even breaking a sweat. Don't worry about that. I won't touch you if you don't want me to."

"You're just afraid of your girlfriend putting you in your place, Salvatore."

He shrugged, "Sure. You caught me." I just laughed.

-x-

I've been to enough of these country club parties to know that I absolutely hate them. Unlike my family, the Salvatores have money. They can afford the good things in life. Not having a lot of money has never bothered me. Even with Damon as my best friend, it doesn't really faze me. But as I'm walking into the country club tonight, my arm linked through Damon's, I feel…out of place. I don't belong there. I really shouldn't have come; I doubt that we'll be able to pull this off at all. Damon looks at me with a look on his face. He knows that I'm tensing up and he pulls me aside.

"Relax, Buttercup," he says to me, taking my face in his hands. At first I thought it'd be weird, but in actuality, it feels…oddly right. "You're overthinking things. Don't think. You're my best friend and you know that I love you more than anybody else in my life."

I smile, "I love you too, Damon." We've exchanged I-love-you's before; he's my best friend and I _do_ love him. It's a different kind of feeling that in love, which we are definitely not. I smile slightly and then tense up as I see Guiseppe Salvatore approaching us. Damon leans down and whispers in my ear, "Relax, Caroline. We can do this."

"Father," Damon greets Guiseppe as he grabs my hand. I take a deep breath; it's show time.

"Damon," Guiseppe nods. He looks at me, "Evening, Caroline."

I smile in response.

"It's good to see you two. So, Son, where's your date?"

"You're looking at her," Damon responds. I hear Guiseppe sigh, and I know that he's not happy.

"I asked you to bring a date, not your best friend."

"She's my date, Father. Caroline and I have been dating in secret for a while. We don't want anybody know, so do you think you could keep it to yourself for a while?"

Guiseppe scoffed, "Yeah, I really don't believe that."

Without really knowing what Damon's about to do, he leans down and covers my lips with his. It feels so different; his lips so warm, so inviting, and for a moment I get lost in the kiss. It's so good that I forgot where I was, or the fact that I was around practically fifty people, or even the fact that I was kissing my best friend – someone I've known ever since I can remember, someone that was in my earliest memory. I just knew the fact that I really am enjoying this right now and I throw my arms around his neck, pulling him closer to me. Time seemed to stop until I heard Guiseppe clear this throat. I broke away from Damon, wiping my mouth, and Guiseppe just looked at us.

"It appears as though I was mistaken," he said, and I thought I saw Damon smirk. "Why don't you go find Elena and Stefan? I'm sure they'll want to talk to you."

As Guiseppe turned and left, I looked at Damon. This whole damn thing was awkward. I wasn't sure what to say to him, so I just shook my head and walked away. I saw Elena and Stefan over in the corner, keeping to themselves, so I went over to where they were and sat down beside Elena.

"You look beautiful tonight, 'Lena," I said to her. She was just showing now, being three months pregnant, and she was wearing a deep purple dress that had a flowy skirt.

"I look fat," Elena complained. "You're just saying that because you're biased."

"She's just a little emotional today," Stefan said from beside her. Elena glared at him.

"Tonight's supposed to be a happy occasion," I say to them, trying to avoid a fight. Sometimes I really hate how moody and bitchy Elena can be, even though she and I are pretty close. "So be happy."

"What was that over there with Damon that I saw?" Elena said, changing the subject. "Were you and Damon _kissing?_"

Stefan just watched me for a moment before I sighed and nodded, "Yes, but it's not what you think. We're not together. It's just an act."

"Ah," Stefan said. "To fool Father, huh? To get him to leave Damon alone?"

"Don't say that too loud, brother," Damon popped up behind me. He handed me a glass of champagne, and I gladly accepted, taking a sip. "Don't want anybody to overhear you."

-x-

I have no idea how much I had to drink that night, but I know that Damon was probably up there as well. In fact, he's no lightweight, so for him to get drunk, it takes a pretty fucking lot. At the end of the night, I called a taxi and he insisted to see me home, as the gentleman he was (most of the time). We got to my apartment and with me being incapacitated and not quite in control of myself, I opened my front door and then I leaned in and kissed him. Later, I would blame it on being so damn drunk, but right now, it's what I want. It had been over a year since I had had sex – or any real contact like that – and, to be honest, Damon is really hot. Even I can see that, although I'd only seen him as a brother. But as he's pushing me up against the wall and thoroughly kissing me, that thought is escaping me. I kiss him back with just as much enthusiasm, and while he's still pushing me up against that wall, he grinds into me. The friction is delicious and I want – no, I _need_ more. My tongue makes its way into his mouth and our tongues dance together. I break the kiss so I can breathe and he's at my neck, nuzzling, kissing and nipping at it. It feels wonderful and then he's picking me up, and I wrap my legs around his waist as he carries me to my bedroom. He sits on the bed so I'm straddling his hips, and the kissing continues. His lips are so warm, so soft, and I seriously could do this forever.

I start to unbutton his shirt, wanting to take this further, and he shrugs it off and it lands on the floor. I run my hands up and down his chest – God, his skin feels so wonderful to me. I kiss my way down his jaw, down his neck, and he groans. The noise just turns me on even more and before I know it, he's lifting my dress up off of me. I shift a little so he can get it off and he just smirks at me. The making out continues as our clothes are strewn all over my bedroom floor and he lays down as I line him up with my center. I need him _now_, and without warning I sink down on him. I start riding him in earnest and he grabs my hips, gripping them so hard that I might have a bruise when he's finished. I throw my head back, reveling in the feeling of him filling me up, and he starts thrusting up into me. I am close, I can feel my orgasm approaching, and I think Damon can feel it, too. He reaches down and rubs my clit in slow circles and I moan loudly – if I wasn't drunk right now, I'd probably be embarrassed about how loud it was. He starts rubbing my clit faster and harder and I shudder as I come around him. He follows not long after, shooting his load into me. I sigh as my heartbeat starts to slow and I fall off of him and into the bed.

When my alarm goes off the next morning, I groan and, as I reach over to turn it off, I bump into a warm body. A warm body, naked in my bed. I blink a few times, trying to get the sleep out of my eyes and then I look to see who it was – and I freeze. Damon. Everything that happened last night comes flooding back and I groan. I had sex with my totally platonic, very best friend. And I'm totally and utterly fucked.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: This chapter's pretty short, sorry. I'm on a serious roll with this one, though, but I would like to say that right now, my stories are un-beta'd because my beta only has two more terms for his degree and he's super busy. I'm trying really hard to keep this updated (and I'm working on an update for my other story, too) so read and review, please!**

At eight o'clock the next morning, I was staring at myself in the mirror, and that's when I noticed them. I had hickeys on my neck – about two or three of them, a deep purple, like bruises. They weren't very big, and I could cover them up with makeup, but the fact was that they were there. I put my hair up in a messy bun, not wanting to mess with anything extensive that morning – I was severely hung over and here I was, going to spend the day with ten rowdy kids. I put on a little makeup and covered up the hickeys with concealer, and grabbed a package of pop tarts out of the pantry as I left. I tried really hard not to think about what happened last night on my drive over, and when the kids ambushed me at the door, it was all forgotten.

I was reading the younger kids a story while the older kids colored when Daphne tapped me on the shoulder, "Someone's here for you, Care," she said seriously. "Says he wants to talk to his buttercup."

I rolled my eyes, but then told the kids, "Miss Daphne will finish this. I've got to go talk to someone." She took the book and I went out into the front to talk to Damon.

"Hey," he said to me when I got there, his hands in his pockets. "So…we kind of need to talk."

I nodded; boy did we ever.

"Follow me," I said to him, and he followed me into the break room that Daphne and I shared.

We kind of just stared at each other for a few silent moments before Damon opened his mouth.

"Last night shouldn't have happened," he said quietly. "I put you in an uncomfortable situation and you had too much to drink. I even had too much to drink and we let our impulses get ahold of us. I'm sorry it happened. You think that maybe we can find a way to put it behind us?"

I sighed, "Yeah, I think so. You're my very best friend, Damon, and I love you. I'm not going to stop talking to you because we fell into bed together."

"I love you more than anyone else in my life, Caroline. I just want to make sure that things won't get uncomfortable between us."

I nodded, "They won't. I promise."

-x-

Damon and I haven't talked for almost three weeks. That may not sound like much, but with me and Damon, it's forever. I knew that night we had together messed with our friendship – it had to. I was a little more than pissed at myself, because this was mostly my fault. I knew I had to go talk to Damon, to see what was wrong and why he hasn't been around for me lately, but I just couldn't. I won't bullshit – I was fucking scared. Our friendship was very important to me, and here I was, not talking to Damon. We fucked up, and I wasn't exactly sure how to proceed from here.

Luckily, I didn't really have an option. I woke up that Sunday morning and went into the living room and saw Elena and Bonnie sitting with Tyler, chatting, and I knew right then I was fucked.

"Hey, Care," Elena said softly. She knew something – the way that she was looking at me was a good indication of that.

"What're you guys doing here?" I asked. I leaned against the wall and crossed my arms in front of me.

"You know, the funny thing is that Damon hasn't been out of the apartment in three weeks, other than to go to work. And surprise, surprise, neither have you. Something had to happen between you two," Elena said, and I sighed.

"Maybe it did," I said, not really wanting to talk about it, but part of me was thanking God that someone was bringing it up. I've really wanted to talk to someone about the clusterfuck of feelings I had been getting since that night.

"Damon and I are having marital problems," I try joking, but Elena, Bonnie, and even Tyler are giving me serious looks. "Look, I fucked up, okay? I went to that engagement party with Damon because he begged me to go and fool his dad about us. But then we both got smashed – I mean, totally wasted – and we, uh…" my voice trailed off.

"You guys fucked, didn't you?" Elena asked. She looks at Bonnie, "I totally fucking called it."

"What are you talking about?" I ask her.

"The two of you have been dancing around each other for years. Even a blind man could tell how badly you wanted each other."

"It's not like that," I protest, but before I could continue, my stomach turned and I just made it to the bathroom before I expelled everything. I groaned, brushing my teeth to get the nasty taste out of my mouth, and then went back to them. Elena gave me a knowing look.

"It's just a stomach bug," I say and even though Elena's giving me that special look that says I'm full of bullshit, I try my best to ignore her. I've been puking nonstop for the last week and I'd been tired, so I figured that was what was going on. I went into the kitchen and poured myself a cup of coffee.

"Thank God you made coffee," I say to Tyler, and he just watches me.

"Look, Damon and I slept together. And you know what? I fucking loved it. I was drunk, he was drunk, and we both wanted it. It means nothing, though. We can still be friends."

"Is that why you're avoiding him, and he's avoiding everybody else?" Elena asked, with an eyebrow raised. "Because that's what the two of you are doing."

I shake my head, "It's nothing, 'Lena. I'll go and see him and everything will be fine. You'll see."

-x-

Three weeks later, Damon and I still haven't talked, and what's worse is that my stomach bug isn't gone. I'm still puking and I feel bloated. Not to mention, I've been craving some weird shit lately. Tyler made fun of me for that, and then suggested I go to the doctor. So I took the day off that Tuesday and went and saw her.

When she tells me, "Congratulations, you're pregnant," it takes me off guard a little. Pregnant? Not only did Damon and I fuck up our friendship by sleeping together, but now we're going to be connected for life – with a baby. The funny part about all this is the fact that I'm not freaking out about being pregnant – I love kids and knew it would happen eventually – but that I was freaking out about whose kid I was having. How the hell was I going to tell Damon? Things had been pretty rocky with us these past six weeks and I wasn't sure how he was going to take this. I can feel myself start to panic, so I take a few deep breaths and try to calm myself down.

_This is stupid_, I thought. _I know Damon better than I know myself sometimes. _ Which was true. Damon and I have been friends for years. Most of the time I know him better than he does. But things were changing, and I've never been the biggest fan of change.

I know I've zoned out, but the doctor snaps her fingers in front of my face, "Caroline?"

I shake the thoughts out of my head, "Sorry."

She goes on to prescribe me prenatal vitamins and talk about checkups and such. By the time I'm out of there, it's almost three, and going to work would just be a waste; I'd only be there for an hour. So I go home. I go home, change into a pair of flannel pants and a t-shirt that I stole from Damon years ago, crawl into my bed and go to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

I wake up around six, and the first thing I do is call Stefan. I know that Elena will hear the news eventually, because she and Stefan have the kind of relationship where they tell each other _everything_, but I need to know what to do right now. He answered on the second ring.

"Care, hi," he says out of breath. "You're lucky you caught me, my shift starts in a few minutes. What's up?"

Stefan is going to medical school. He's wanted to be a doctor for I don't know how long – definitely since we were kids. It means his schedule is busy, but he still makes time for the important things.

I sigh and I start to tell him about my predicament. He says "uh huh" and "yeah, I understand" at appropriate intervals, so I know that he's paying attention. When I finish there's a moment of silence.

"You want my advice?" he asks me.

"I called you, didn't I?" I retort.

"Here's what you do. Call Damon. Hell, he's working tonight, so go and see him. He needs to know about this."

"I guess he does, but I'm scared, Stefan."

"Look, Damon values family over everything else. You know that. Just because he and Father have their differences, it doesn't mean he's not going to want to raise this child with you. And he loves you, Care."

"Yeah, he's my best friend."

"And as your best friend, Damon's not going to abandon you. But this, Damon's gonna want to know. Just trust me, okay?"

"I don't know about that, Stef," I say. "He's been hopping from bimbo to bimbo ever since he entered junior high. Having a kid is just going to tie him down."

"Damon values family over everything else." Stefan repeats. "I think the reason you're so hesitant on this is because you don't want to be tied to Damon this way. Am I right?"

"Stefan," I sigh, "we never should have been in this predicament. We both had too much to drink, and I know that's not an excuse – hell, I know that better than anyone else, you make your bed now lie in it kind of thing. This should've never happened. I'm never going to have him back the way I want him."

"And how exactly _do_ you want him, Care?"

"As my friend. I want back the boy I caught tadpoles with when I was six, the boy who taught me how to throw a baseball and then took the heat with me when it broke old man McMillan's window. The boy who taught me how to break a boy's arm when he was trying to get fresh with me on a first date. The guy who dared me to prank Mr. Saltzman's history classroom with mousetraps and then took the blame for it when Mr. Saltzman threw a fit. I want back the boy who, when I had my first date with Matt back in high school, congratulated me and then handed me a box of condoms."

There's a silence and I can feel the tears roll down my cheeks. I took a breath and said, "Hey, Stef, you there?"

"Look, Care," he said after a long minute, "Damon and you have been best friends for twenty plus years. He loves you, y'know? I know you love him too."

"As a _friend_," I say, stressing the 'friend' part of the sentence. "There can be nothing more to it."

"So, you don't want anything more from him? At all?"

I licked my bottom lip, more out of habit than anything, and said, "Even if I did, Stef, it would fuck everything up."

"Things aren't exactly going as planned at the moment, anyway, wouldn't you agree?"

"Okay, point," I mumble.

"Go see Damon at work, Care. He'd already be there, his shift started at six."

I nod even though I know he can't see me, "Okay. Thanks, Stef."

"No problem Care. Go see him." There's a pause. "Just remember that he's just as vulnerable as you are right now."

I'm not exactly sure what that means, but we say our goodbyes and hang up. Sighing to myself, I get dressed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt that I stole from Damon forever ago, grab my car keys and leave the apartment, locking the door behind me. When I get to the Grill, I see Damon sitting in a booth, eating a cheeseburger. I slide into the opposite side of the booth and he looks at me.

"Hey," he says softly. "Haven't talked to you in a while. How are you?"

"Good. There's actually something that I need to tell you –" I start, but he cuts me off.

"Look, I'm sorry about not talking to you for a while. I needed space. I can't undo what happened between us, but I can be your friend again. You mean the world to me, Buttercup."

I nod, "Look, Damon, there's something we've got to talk about."

He looks up, "What's that?"

I'm not sure how to proceed from here. I don't know exactly what to say. It's true; I have no romantic feelings towards Damon. _But_, a voice inside me says, _if you didn't, you wouldn't be in this predicament to begin with_. Luckily, or unluckily, depending on how you look at it, I didn't have to say anything as Elena comes over and hugs me. She's bursting with happiness, even I can tell, and she blurts out, "This is awesome, Care! Our kids are only going to be a few months apart, and they're gonna be cousins!"

I clear my throat and look at her, "I, uh, I haven't told anyone yet. Did Stefan really get to you that fast?"

She nods, "And I'm really fucking excited about this! I mean, I'm pretty sure that part of it is just the pregnancy hormones, but seriously, this is fucking awesome."

Damon looks at me, a clueless look on his face, when I turn to Elena, "I've really got to talk to Damon. How about you go find something to do?"

Elena nods, "Oh. Right, sorry. Congratulations, you guys."

She leaves and Damon cocks an eyebrow, "So, what's going on?"

"I'm pregnant, Damon," I say, my voice cracking a little. "It's yours; you're the only person I've slept with in the past year. Look, I'd understand if you don't want it. I'm keeping the baby, though, and we can just tell it you're it's uncle or something…" My voice trails off. "I'm really sorry this happened, though, but things _can_ go back to normal. They have to, for my sanity."

He's just staring at me. I don't know what to do at this point, and I don't know what else to say. I sigh as I wait for his response.

After staring at me for a good two minutes, Damon finally opens his mouth, "I'm going to be a dad?" he asks.

I just nod.

"Caroline, I need to a part of this kid's life. I want to be his dad. I want to be there for you, and for him. Please let me. Please don't shut me out."

Part of my heart breaks. He sounds so desperate, and he thinks that I'm not going to let him in. I don't even know how he got that idea, but I nod, "Okay. I just thought having a kid would bog you down."

"I want it," he says, taking the last bite of his burger. "I want it more than anything."

My words are caught in my throat, so I just nod.

"Let me take you on a proper date," he says, and it takes me by surprise. "We can grab dinner tomorrow. Or, hell, we can have takeout and a movie. I don't really care."

I'm still not one hundred percent sure that this is going to work out, but I figured I might as well try. I surprise myself by nodding, "Yeah. That'd be nice."

"Great." He looks at the clock on the wall, "I've got to start my shift. How about you call me later and we can sort out the rest of the details?"

I nod. He gets up, leans over and kisses my cheek, smiles, and then he's gone.

-x-

When I get home, I call Daphne. Not only is she my boss; she's also my friend. I know that she's going to understand, because Daphne has a four year old that she's raising by herself. The good thing is that Stephanie can be at daycare with us and she fits in well with the other children.

I explain my predicament and Daphne listens. She gives me the rest of the week off, telling me that her friend Aubrey will fill in for me. I'm okay with that, honestly. If I'm this fucking tired at four weeks pregnant, how the hell am I going to feel further down the road, at nine months?

"So," Tyler says after I hang up with Daphne, startling me a little. I didn't even know he was in the apartment. "Another little Salvatore running around, huh?"

I just shrug.

He holds his hands up, "Hey, I'm fine with it. Damon and I have made peace. I'm just surprised you didn't tell me before."

I shrug, "You were gone when I came home from the doctor's today, and I had to go and see Damon."

He takes a seat on the couch next to me, "So what happened to Damon just being a platonic friend?"

I snort, "I don't fucking know, Ty. Something's changed. Damon's my best friend. I don't have romantic feelings for him – I _don't_. But I practically jumped into bed with my best friend, and I'm not exactly sure what to do. And then he asked me out tomorrow and I said yes. Why the hell did I say yes?"

"You know, Care," Tyler says, watching me carefully, "I think you have romantic feelings for him. I think you're just denying them because a) you can't see them, b) you're in denial, or c) you're afraid to try. You've been kind of gun shy around romantic relationships since you and Matt broke up."

"Pssht," I said, waving him off. "Matt and I are still friends. There's nothing wrong between us."

"When's the last time you had a relationship, Care?" Tyler asks. I open my mouth to answer him, but then he adds, "And I mean an actual relationship. Not a fuck buddy."

I lick my lips absentmindedly, "Uh, well…I guess it was Matt."

Tyler gives me a knowing look.

I roll my eyes, "So maybe it's been a while. But I don't know why that matters right now. Matt and I didn't fit. It became apparent after junior year. We both had different plans for the future."

"Personally, I think you fit better with Damon than you ever have with anyone else," Tyler says, and that actually means something to me.

"Have I crossed over into the twilight zone?" I ask him, and he just laughs.

"How about we order some dinner? Chinese okay?" He asks, digging his cell phone out of his pocket. I nod, "Yeah, get me some chicken lo mein. And don't forget the crab rangoons!"

-x-

When I call Damon later that night, he's on his break but I can hear the sounds clearly over the phone. Even for a Tuesday night, the Grill is pretty busy. The Grill usually is pretty low-key; they get their drunken disorderly people, but it's rare. The only reason I know that, too, is the fact that Mom's the sheriff. She doesn't exactly overshare, but I've heard my share growing up in her house.

"I've got the rest of the week off," I tell him as I lay in bed that night. It's a little after ten, and I know Damon's working until the bar closes at three. "Daphne wants me to get adjusted to the fact that I need to eat enough for two and get that much more rest."

"It's a good idea, Buttercup," he says to me. "You run yourself ragged."

"Not you too," I groan. "Seriously, I can take care of myself. I've been taking care of myself for years."

"I'm allowed to worry about you now, Buttercup. Not only are you my best friend, but you're carrying my baby. I just want to make sure everything goes smoothly."

"Everything's going to be fine. You even have a spy now," I say. "Tyler's been watching me like a hawk."

"We're worried about you, Buttercup. When it was just you, your schedule was no problem. You barely ate and you barely slept. You were on the go all the time. I get that was the way that you did things, but things are different now. And I hope you know that Bonnie and Elena are going to be attached to you at the hip."

I shook my head even though I knew he couldn't see me, "I don't know, D," I say. "I mean, Elena's got problems of her own. She's now four months pregnant and I hear that the pregnancy hormones are a bitch."

"And just think," he says, laughing, "That'll be you in a few months."

"You suck. Seriously, you're the worst person I know."

I could practically hear his smirk over the phone when he said, "I'm taking that as a compliment."

"Hey, D?" I ask. I hear his "hmm?" across the line so I continue, "We're going to need to tell our parents."

"Mom and Dad, I have no problem with that. They love me."

"Yeah, I know. Of course, you sucking up to Mom, bringing her lunch at the station and stuff is mainly the reason. Mostly I'm worried about how Dad'll react. Remember, just a month and a half ago, we were only best friends, and now we're having a child."

"They love me," Damon repeated. "You're worrying too much."

"What about Guiseppe?" I ask. There's silence on the other side. "Damon?" I ask, making sure he's still with me.

"Don't be surprised if he tries to push us into marriage, Caroline," Damon says, and I know it's serious. Not only did he call me by my given name, but he's talking about his dad – that's always a serious subject for him.

"Hey," I say softly, wishing that he was here with me so I could touch him. Damon tends to respond to little touches, for comfort. I shrug the thought off as I continue, "your dad isn't going to make me do _anything_. Not even my own parents can order me around. No matter what, I'm going to be here, okay? I love you, D, and nothing's going to ever change that."

For a brief moment, there's silence and then Damon quickly says, "I've gotta go. My break's over. How about I bring over dinner tomorrow night, around six, and we can watch a movie or something?"

I'm missing something. I can tell something is definitely going on in Damon's mind, but he's not going to let me know what it is. I feel something emotional in my chest, but I push the feeling aside.

"Okay," I saw weakly. "I'll see you tomorrow, Damon."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I just wanted to say thanks to you guys who've been reviewing like crazy. I really like where I'm going with this story and the reviews are helping me write faster and give me more inspiration. So thank you!**

I burst into the apartment that Elena shares with Stefan and Damon the next day, looking for Damon. Elena just looks at me.

"Hey, Care," she says, a spoonful of frosted flakes halfway to her mouth. She takes her bite, swallows, and then says, "What's up?"

"Is Damon here? I've got to talk to him."

She shook her head slowly, "He's out with Stefan. I have no idea what they're doing, some brother bonding stuff or whatever. Is something wrong?"

"I was on the phone with him last night, and he got weird. It's been on my mind."

"Well, tell me what happened."

So I sat down beside her at the kitchen table as she continued to eat her cereal and then a banana. I told her everything and she got a look on her face.

"Seriously!" I yell, not at anyone in particular, but just showing my frustration. "What the hell do you guys know that I don't?"

"It's not a big deal, Care," Elena says. "It's just that…well, Damon kind of has a thing for you."

"Kind of a thing? What kind of a thing?"

"He likes you, Care."

"Well, sure. He's my best friend. I like him, too."

"Not like that. He likes you, as in romantically. He's interested in you."

I laughed, "Oh, come on, Elena. Damon knows everything about me – even every little dirty secret I have. I've known him forever – since I was born. Besides, he's got girls throwing themselves at him all the fucking time. Why would he want me?"

"You don't give yourself enough credit," Elena said, standing up. "Do you think he'd call just anyone Buttercup? It's you, because he likes you. It's your own special nickname, reserved for you particularly. And it's reserved for him to call you that. I know about how mad you get whenever someone else calls you that."

"That's because only Damon gets to call me that." I don't understand where she's going with this.

"He's coming over to your house tonight, right? He asked you on a real, honest to God date, didn't he?"

"He wants us to be close to each other because of the baby."

Elena sighed and looked at me, "Okay. You keep telling yourself that."

"Besides," I say, watching Elena take her dishes into the adjoining kitchen, "it's not like we're doing anything fancy. Just takeout and a movie. When Damon's trying to woo a girl, he goes all out. Not just takeout and time at home."

"You're not just any girl, Care," Elena says, like it's totally obvious and I'm just missing a point. "He doesn't have to be fancy for you. You guys have known each other for over twenty years. Of course he's going to feel comfortable with you. You could do anything and it'd impress him, you know."

"This is nonsense," I say to her. "Besides, that's not why I came over today. Mom called; Dad's in town. He wants me to come to dinner, and I figured I could take Damon. We've gotta tell them about the baby. I haven't told Damon about it yet, but when I mentioned telling his father, he got really weird."

"You know how his relationship is with his father," Elena says, shrugging. She's washing her dishes at the sink. "But I bet he's not afraid to tell your parents, is he?"

I shook my head, grabbing an apple out of the fruit bowl on the table, taking a bite. I have been craving fresh fruit like crazy the last few days.

"He's not afraid of them. He's not really afraid of Guiseppe, _per se_, but you know him as well as I do. He's a jackass."

Even though Elena has been with Stefan since high school, she's never really cared for the way that Guiseppe treats Damon. Hell, Stefan hates it, too, but he won't stop so we've kind of learned to live with it. I took another bite of the apple.

There was a moment of silence as I ate my apple and Elena came back over, sitting beside me at the table, "I'm glad that you're here, though. Stefan and I've decided to postpone the wedding until after the baby's born."

"Have you told Guiseppe?"

She shook her head, "Haven't told anyone, really, beside from you and Bonnie. Oh, and Damon, but he should know since he is going to be Stefan's best man."

When Elena started planning her and Stefan's wedding, she decided that she would never be able to choose a maid of honor out of Bonnie and me, so she decided that we both would share that role as maid_s_ of honor. We had both been okay with that.

I finished the apple, getting up to throw the core in the trash. I looked at Elena for a moment before saying, "Hey, when Damon gets home, tell him I came by, yeah? I've got to go home and do a few things before tonight."

"Getting all gussied up for Damon, huh?" Elena said playfully, with a wink.

"No, nothing like that. Besides, I want to stop by the store. I really want some fresh blueberry pancakes."

"Hey," Elena said as I was leaving. I turned around to look at her. "Bonnie and I are going shopping for some baby stuff next weekend. You should come. It'd be fun."

"Elena, I'm six weeks along. It's hardly the time to start getting baby stuff."

"I was talking more about me. I just really want to go shopping."

I shrug; I always love a good shopping trip, and Elena's got baby fever right now, so I figured why the hell not. "Sure," I say, "I'd love to go. Sounds like a lot of fun."

Elena nodded, and with that, I was out.

-x-

I was at the produce section of the store, trying to figure out if I wanted mangos or pineapple more when my phone rang. I answered it when I saw it was Damon, "Hey."

"Hey, Buttercup. Elena said you stopped by."

"I did," I answer, picking up a mango to test its firmness. "Dad's going to be in town for a couple of days and Mom wants to have dinner with us. I figured this was as best time as any to tell them about the baby."

"Yeah," he answered. "When does she want to have it?"

"Well, tonight would be ideal," I say, knowing that Dad would want to get back to Stephen before too long. "I know you wanted to hang out tonight, but –"

"No, tonight's fine. What time?"

"Six-ish. Don't worry about dressing up – it's just Mom and Dad."

"Buttercup," Damon says after a moment, "what are we going to tell them? Are we dating?"

"Well, seeing as we haven't been on a single date…" my voice trailed off.

"I'm going to call you my girlfriend," he says after a moment. I shake my head, even I know damn well that he can't see me.

"No," I say. "It's one thing, tricking your dad, but you know that my parents and I have an honesty thing. I don't want to ruin that with some stupid lie."

"Caroline," Damon says. "Do…do you not want that with me?"

I sigh; I'm not exactly sure what to say in answer to that. I run a hand through my hair, "Look, Damon, this is all very complicated. I'm not a hundred percent sure what I'm feeling right now, or even what I want. Let me sort out my feelings and as soon as I know, you'll know."

"Okay," he said. I pick up a couple mangos and put them in my basket as he continues, "I trust your judgment, Buttercup. You're my best friend and I always will."

I know there's a lot going on between us, a lot that is going unsaid, but I'm trying really hard to ignore that. More than anything, I want things to go back to the way they were; the way that Damon and I were best friends before that night fucked everything up.

-x-

Damon showed up at my apartment around five to pick me up. Since we were just having dinner at Mom's place, Considering it was early May and the weather was just getting really sunny and nice, I decided to wear a nice lime green sundress I had just bought a few weeks ago. I was just standing in front of my full length mirror, staring at myself. There were a lot of things going through my head at that moment. I mean, seriously, how could this be my life? My life was pretty mundane, all things considered, and look at what I did. I made it more confusing and complex than it really needed to be.

I stood in front of my full length mirror for longer than necessary, and I wasn't sure how long I had been there when Damon came in to get me.

"What's taking so long?" he asked me. He noticed the look on my face, "What's going on?"

"I can't do this," I say, looking at him intently. "I just can't. They're going to be so disappointed in me for being safe, not to mention what Dad's probably going to do to you, and –"

Before I knew what was happening, he covered my mouth with his. The kiss was short and chaste, but I ended it. "What was that?"

"Sorry," he says, and he looks like a blushing virgin, which I know he's not. He's far from it. "I just thought it might calm you down."

I nod, my hand flying up to touch my lips, where I can still feel the ghost of his. After a moment of silence, I grab my purse that's on my nightstand and slip my shoes on, "Let's roll," I say, trying to sound confident, even though inside, I'm scared to death.

We stop at the bakery on Main Street to pick up a package of frosted sugar cookies (they're Dad's favorite, even though he shouldn't be eating them) and then start over to Mom's house. My parents got divorced when I was younger, mostly because that's when my dad came out, but they still act like friends. It's almost like there's no bad blood there or anything, and they get along fine. It's good, though, because I'd hate the thought of my parents not getting along. Dad comes over every once in a while, and we usually have dinner. This isn't the first time I'm bringing Damon, but this will be the most important.

When we pull up to Mom's house, she and Dad are on the front porch, in the porch swing that's been on there ever since I can remember. Mom stands up when she sees me and Damon.

"Care, hi," Mom says, pulling me close. We hug for a moment before she pulls back, "I haven't seen you in a while."

I smile weakly, "Yeah, well, I've been busy."

Damon is coming towards them, and Dad shakes his hand, "Damon," he says, "It's good to see you, Son."

"Thanks, Dad," he says, and it almost melts my heart. He hands him the package of sugar cookies.

"Are you trying to bribe me?" he asks, looking from Damon to me, and then back. "These are my favorite."

"I know," I reply, smiling. "But don't think you're getting all those to yourself." _Ever since my pregnancy, I've been craving sweets_, I want to say, but don't. That's not how I want to break the news to my parents.

Damon follows Dad into the house and I know what they're doing – they are going to turn on the baseball game and veg out. Mom looks at me after they leave, "Okay, spill."

My eyes widen. Can she really tell? Deciding to play ignorant, I look at her and say, "Spill? Spill what?"

"I know something's up, Caroline. You're practically glowing. So, what happened? Did you and Damon finally stop ignoring your feelings and get together?"

I know what I said to Damon about lying to my parents, but all the sudden, I don't want them to know that Damon and I had a one night stand, so I nod, "Yeah. We're dating now."

Mom smiles a wide smile and claps her hands together, "That's great, Care. You guys have this connection that not many people have, and I want you to know that I support you no matter what. You guys are going to make a great couple."

I smile weakly, "Thanks."

"Well, dinner should be done by now. I made that chicken ranch enchilada stuff that you love."

Mom knows I'm a sucker for Mexican food, so we usually have some whenever we have dinners together. She turns to go in to the house to check on dinner and I follow her. Damon's watching the game with Dad, but I really need to talk to Damon, so I say, "Hey, D, can we talk for a minute? Outside?"

He nods and follows me out there. I watch him carefully, "So, I told Mom we were dating."

His eyes widen in surprise, "Really? What happened to not lying to them?"

"I can't tell them that we slept together without dating. I can't do it, D. I mean, we basically had a one night stand, and I can't tell them that. We're here to announce the pregnancy and I just want to make it go smoothly. So just go with this, okay?"

"You know, Buttercup," Damon says after a moment, "I'm not going to blow your cover."

I know where this is going, and part of me wants to ask him if he's ever going to tell me that he's in love with me. Because, if Elena's right, then Damon has a thing for me, and I already love him – more as a friend than anything else, but maybe if we start dating my feelings might change.

I nod instead of asking the question I'm dying to ask. He leans over and gives me a kiss on the cheek, and I smile at him.

Dinner goes pretty smoothly. Well, it does until Mom pulls out a bottle of wine. Hey, we're all over 21, so drinking is a thing that happens, but I decline, Mom knows something's wrong. I'm not an alcoholic, not by a long shot, but I enjoy a glass of wine just as much as the next person.

"Something wrong, Care?" Mom asks me as she pours herself a glass. Damon also declines, which looks just as weird as when I do, but Mom doesn't say anything to him. Instead, he and I are drinking Pepsi. I watch them all carefully before Damon nods his head a little discreetly so I decide now is as good of time as any.

"Mom, Dad," I say, trying to work up my nerve. "Uh, Damon and I have something to tell you."

They're both looking at me intently, and I take a few breaths in and out, "Uh, well, I'm pregnant."

Mom raises an eyebrow but doesn't say anything. Dad looks at Damon, "Since when are you dating?"

"About six weeks ago," he said honestly. Well, semi-honestly. "Our first date was Elena and Stefan's engagement party. It kind of evolved from there. But I've always had a thing for her. Don't worry, Dad, I'll take good care of her."

"This is so exciting," Mom says after a moment. "Bill, we're going to have a grandchild!"

Dad is being unnaturally silent, and part of me is waiting for the other shoe to drop, so to speak. After a moment, I can't take it anymore, so I look at him, "Daddy?"

"Care, you're my little girl," he says finally. "It's just weird for me to think that you're going to have a child."

"Daddy, I'm twenty-four years old," I say, almost defiantly. "It's not like I'm sixteen."

"Thank God for that," I hear him mumble.

"How far along are you?" Mom asks, trying to ease the tension. I can tell by the look in her eyes that she's really excited about this.

"Six weeks," I say. After I say it, I realize that Dad's going to realize that Damon and I had sex on our "first date", but part of me doesn't really care. "I went to the doctor's yesterday. Everything's good."

I'm watching the look that Dad is giving Damon and I can't take it anymore, "Look, dinner's been great, but I really should go. Get my rest and everything."

Mom looks at her watch, "It's only eight."

"I know, but I just kind of want to go home. It was great to see you guys."

"Caroline," Dad says, like he knows I'm leaving because of him, "Sit back down. I'm sorry, okay? I just was taken by surprise."

I make a face, but do as he asks. I sigh, taking a drink of my soda, "Look, I'm just as surprised as you guys, okay? But I'm pregnant and it's not like I can take it back. Besides, I kind of really want this baby. I always told you guys that I was going to have lots of kids."

Things seemed to calm down a little after that. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see the looks that Dad is giving Damon, but I'm trying my hardest to ignore it. Dad's right – he's my dad and he has been a little overprotected my entire life.

By ten that night, I am dead tired and Damon and I decide to leave. We say goodbye to Mom and Dad, although I can really tell that Damon and Dad have a lot of tension between the two of them. Damon drove me home and I invited him up.

"Why don't you come up?" I ask him. "I'd kind of like it if you stayed tonight."

Damon made a face, although I was having trouble figuring out what he was thinking, and then said, "Sure."


End file.
